Hard work and help

Sorry for the lack of updates on the blog front recently, we have had Scott and Hannah (our first ever WWoOFers) with us, and this has put a bit more pressure on us to work hard with them to really get things ticked off our to-do list.  And with their wonderful help we really smashed it in Feb!  Unfortunately we worked so hard I was always too tired to blog after work…

We are in full swing preparing for new fencing in April, and we have completely removed our back fence and cleared a number of trees from it.  There is still more tree clearing to do, but we know we can do it.  We also cleared out two blocks worth of irrigation and trellis wires and had an excavator come and pull out the apple trees.  One of the blocks will be the site of our new house and the other will be the location of some polytunnels that will allow us to grow vegetables year round.

The house site underway

All the rubbish that was stashed in the farm sheds has been sorted into recyclables and rubbish (one 6 cubic metre skip of rubbish alone!) and the place is looking a great deal tidier.

Burning scrap wood

We picked up some Indian Runner ducks from a friend in Franklin, they are supposed to be great foragers, and decent layers, so we are giving them a whirl in the orchard.  They have settled in nicely, and we hope to start getting eggs from them this winter.  Any boys will get the chop, and despite the runners being a pretty small bird, they are reputed to be pretty tasty.

Moving the Muscovies to accommodate the Indian Runners

We have also bitten the bullet on the ring-barking sheep, and found a great solution where we are able to agist them (let them eat someone else’s grass) year round on a property a few minutes away.  This means that we still have our Wiltshire girls (and ram) on our place, together with (Shish-ka)Bob.  We had a day of sorting and age-tagging all 60 sheep with the kind help of our neighbours Ross and Leanne.  After wrestling sheep in the race in 30-degree heat they probably won’t be so quick to offer to help next time I ask a favour!

Ross holds the girl while we check her teeth to age her

Leading a few of the Wilty girls into their next area

Which brings us to Bob… Due to popular demand, Bob won’t meet the butcher this autumn as we have too many guests coming to meet him and he is very much a people sheep.  But next spring he definitely goes to Disneyland.  Maybe.  I keep reminding myself there is room for sentiment on the farm, but not sentimentality.

Maintaining that tough outlook is made so much harder when you witness the miracle of a cow having a calf, as we did yesterday.  Two new animals added to our herd, we are now waiting on the other three.  Photos to come when I change the battery in the camera(!).

Black cows are hard to photograph...

So Scott and Hannah have left us to go picking apples at Calverts in Waterloo.  You should see the location of the pickers accommodation, right on the Huon.  Million dollar views for the help, amazing stuff.  I really should get some photos to show you all.  The jobs were organised by our new friends down here, and all I can say is that I have never known a community to help one another out like this one does.  It is a real privilege to be a little part of it and we do our best to return the many favours and help we receive.

On the visitor front we had a visit from Paul and Lulu from the UK.  I knew Paul when I was working at Anglo Pacific Group (in fact he was our largest shareholder and an old friend of one of my mentors, Peter Boycott) but meeting them both for a day on the farm, followed by Masaaki’s for lunch was wonderful.  Paul has had some experience with Tasmanian farming, and they manage quite the estate in the UK.  Some of the questions they asked were really perceptive.  We also had a visit by Katie, Kevy and young Madeleine.  It was a great day to show them round the farm and take them to Masaaki’s for lunch.  Are you getting a theme here?  Well, Masaaki is famous for the best sushi in Tasmania, and he just happens to be based in Geeveston, so what more could you want?

Kevy, Katie and Mads with Cor

Mads loved Princess most of all!

The next month promises more visitors and lots of work as we start picking our (few) apples.  Hopefully we will also get cracking on our polytunnel as well.

So that wraps it up.  Let us know when you are coming and we will wash the cows, brush the ducks, comb the sheep, polish the chickens, and book a table at Masaaki’s….

Cor modelling her new "pregnancy" workwear

Just a small taste of our autumn harvest

Letter to stakeholders

Dear stakeholders,

Oh, this isn’t for me you are thinking, they must have copied the wrong thing into their blog.  Well, if you are one of “Our Mates”, then as we see it you have a stake in the farm, so you are our stakeholders.

I haven’t done one of these for a couple of years so please be patient…tongue is firmly in cheek…. OK here we go.

Since starting Our Mates’ Farm in November we have experienced a number of challenges as well as identified a number of potential sources of revenue (and fun) for future years.  The challenges that we have faced have stemmed largely from due diligence questions that were never fully answered in the acquisition process.  The main challenge, and quite frankly, disappointment, of the year to date is that Our Mates’ Farm will not be experiencing a bumper apple crop this year.  As stakeholders I am sure you will be well aware that weather conditions have combined to produce a stellar environment for apple growing, and be expecting great results and lots of work this picking season from us.  Unfortunately the neglected condition of the trees has led them to a biennial production state, and as a result we will miss out on the potential gains that this year’s weather conditions could have provided.  This biennial situation means that with careful orchard management and husbandry next year’s crop has the potential to be phenomenal, as we attempt to return the trees to annual production.  Whether weather conditions and prices will align to yield a profit for the coming year’s expected cropping remains to be seen.

The other challenges that we are facing, and are dealing with on your behalf, are related to infrastructure.  Our repairs to the irrigation pump and system are yielding benefits, and water continues to be supplied to the trees we plan to pick this year and keep for next year.  We have recently installed a large 24,000 litre reservoir tank at the top of the property and will soon connect it to our water infrastructure, allowing us to use the existing pipework to gravity feed water to every corner of the property with the turn of a tap.

The fencing of the property remains a challenge, with fences on all four sides of the property proving porous to wildlife, and occasionally Princess.  We know that adding quality fencing will improve the value of our farm, and we have therefore arranged for new fences to be installed in April.  Clearing the existing, overgrown fence lines is a challenging and time-consuming task, and the installation of new fences will be expensive, however we believe you will see the benefits of the investment when you come for a stakeholder site-visit.

The challenge posed by the sheep situation will soon be resolved, with the surplus assets disposed of and profits reinvested into ongoing activities.  All members of the Wiltshire division will be retained, with the exception of one member who is “looking tasty”.  The decision on whether or not to send kaBob to “Disneyland” is still under discussion and stakeholder opinions on this will be sought closer to the time.

In relation to the potential future revenue streams, we have been in close consultation with our apple customer in relation to identifying which varieties of both eating and cider apple would most align with their future ambitions.  The current plan is to graft up to 3 blocks of trees to desirable eating varieties this winter, and graft a number of trees in the blocks with larger rootstock to cider varieties.  A testing program on the success or otherwise of the cider grafts will determine the rollout of these varieties over the balance of the large rootstock trees over the coming years.  In the meantime efforts will be made to return the trees not being removed to annual production.  A holistic, organic program of pest management is currently being developed.

We have identified a number of potential uses for the trees we are removing, including high-value woodchips, however as commercially-sensitive negotiations are currently underway in this segment we cannot provide further specifics without compromising our first mover competitive advantage.

The livestock business is still in a fledgling stage, with our first lowline Black Angus calves expected in March, and our first litter of piglets expected the same month.  Once trees are removed work will have to be undertaken to level paddocks from their current undulating form which is suited for apple trees.  Until hay production is required this is not a pressing concern.  We have an inventory of 80 bales of hay purchased for spring as an insurance policy against our grass.  This policy had a very low purchase cost.

There are also a number of potential side-businesses that require investigation, including, but not limited to:

-  Egg production (we are waiting on the response of the bureaucrats in relation to the stamping question)

- Market gardening

- Accommodation

- Aquaculture (provided we can figure out how to stop cormorants eating the trout)

Finally, to staffing issues.  We have added two WWOOFers who are proving very useful in helping us tackle our challenges.  They are staying in the guest bedroom and Coreen is doing her best to “feed them up”.  Coreen will be leaving the farm on maternity leave in June, however we look forward to bringing our little one into the fold and getting them working for you all just as soon as we can.

Thank you all for your continued interest in Our Mates’ Farm, and with your ongoing support and assistance we can deal with the challenges we face and make our stewardship a shining example for others to follow.

The trench to connect our water tank to the orchard irrigation

Matt, Scott and Hannah (the WWOOFers) work on getting crushed rock out for the tank base

Tank is in place!

Blackberries are coming on!

New life on the farm

Some time for fishing (but no fish!)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Or Happy Chinese New Year!  It has been a great week with Cor’s parents and Uncle Robert visiting for both Australia Day and Chinese New Year.

On Australia Day we took them on a tour of the farm, and then headed to the Apple Shed to enjoy some great pizza and cider.  If you are down this way, you simply must check it out.  The cider is great (if not the cloudy Somerset style I prefer), the food is outstanding and their display of apple production history is also good.  I would like a bit more on the history of apples coming out of the Huon, but then you would expect that from a Geeveston orchardist!  Still, it is a gem of a place and a wonderful addition to the district.

The Tahune airwalk was also on the list of things to do, and lived up to its billing.  Walking through the wet eucalypt forest, checking out Huon pines and massive eucalyptus trees and then doing it again all at the treetop level was just great.  The swinging bridges were also a fun walk, and it was all topped off by short walks to the Waratah lookout and Arve River falls up the Hartz mountains, where we saw trout!  We learned a bit about our newly adopted home of Geeveston at the Forestry centre, and are now armed with facts sure to bore future visitors to tears.

The junction of the Picton and Huon Rivers

Cor's Dad, Uncle Robert and her mum

We gave them a bit of a food tour, buying farmed salmon direct from the fish farm, in addition to roadside cherries and other stone fruits, but this was just the entrée to the main course… the food that was to come with the resumption of our annual Chinese New Year barbecue.

Chinese New Year was always a great event for us in London and a great reason to get our friends together.  We had missed it while we were travelling and were determined to make up for it now that we had a house, not to mention a new home.  We couldn’t invite everyone we wanted to, as our place is pretty small, but we did OK.  Matthew and Sadie brought Hedley, Ross and Leanne brought Cooper, and James and Samara brought Will and Molly for a bit of a barbecue and Chinese feast.  We had the New Year yeesang salad, chicken and pork buns, pork ribs, BBQ duck and ox-tail stew, finished off with coconut jelly and fruit for dessert.  It was a great feast everyone seemed to enjoy, especially Cor’s parents who got to meet some of the people helping us to settle into our new life in Tasmania.

Uncle Robert went back to Sydney with some fertilised chicken eggs from one of our local chicken gurus, and Cor’s parents have now flown to New Zealand to spend time with Casey and the family over there.  We are moving on, with our first WWoOFers due to arrive today, and a new chapter beginning as things really ramp up on the farm.

So we wish you a wonderful Year of the Horse, and hope it is the year you make it a bit closer to your own good life (even if that just entails paying us a visit)!

 Some more photos of the week....

Princess sleeps through the preparations...

Samara jokes about her chopsticks

It has been hot enough for swimming....

... and the pigs need cooling off too!

Construction and Destruction

Well it has been a busy week on the farm.  We have settled into a bit of a pattern with the apples, it is irrigation time now and after we do some more thinning (removing surplus fruit so the remaining fruit can get big) there won’t be much to do on them until harvest in April.  The fruit we have been focused on is looking pretty good, and we think we will pick some extra throughout the orchard.

We have been using the extra time to work on a number of building projects.  The first pig shelter I built wasn’t a success, being too small for Tinks or Peter Pan, they just lay around outside it (I really did forget how big these two were), so I took some outside inspiration and knocked up a couple of “mark 2” pig shelters.  These are much bigger and will hopefully do a much better job.  The mark 1 will still be good for weaners and smaller pigs.  The new ones are in place in the new paddocks, as we just today separated them for Tinkerbell’s farrowing.

Not big enough!

New design...

Fully tractor mobile

A happy fit!

We also built a “mark 2” mineral trough for the cows, complete with lawnmower wheels for easy, one person, moving.  Following the success of this I then retrofitted the mark 1 sheep mineral trough with wheels as well.

Quite proud of this one, and the cows seem to like it too!

The other side of the week has been destruction.  One of the arms that holds the 3 point hitch on the back of the tractor (the hitch we need for using all of our implements and as a result doing things like watering our animals) broke off.  I was lucky to see it before there was any damage done to the slasher I was carrying with the tractor at the time.  I managed to scrounge a replacement to do the job while we waited for a new one.

In addition, when running our irrigation pump I noticed some water coming out of a valve, then a lot of water.  After an extensive digging operation I found the leak, a join in the PVC that must have come loose, so a clamp is required there too.

I dug a hole, and this one's filling with water.

The final element of destruction has come from the sheep.  The neighbour’s sheep that we were given had spent the last four years in the orchard ring-barking trees.  We tried to put them on a program of minerals so they wouldn’t need to do it, however they have shown no interest in the minerals (even when mixed with some of the normally-addictive-sheep-pellets) and have continued to absolutely smash the trees in any area we put them in.  The Wiltshires we bought are absolutely fine, and this has led us to the conclusion that the new mob consists of an unreformable bunch of reprobates.  We are going to have to sell them, gumtree here we come.

Yesterday was a blast from the past, going back over to Fat Pig Farm to help Matthew and Sadie prep for their upcoming series of farm picnics.  As it always seems when we visit, we came home with 10 litres of their delicious milk from their Guernsey and (new!) Fresian cows.  Cheese making time!

Matthew and Sadie's Clarissa has lovely piglets!

The coming week we are doing our day course for our firearms licences, plus Cor’s parents and uncle Robert arrive for a visit, which promises to be exciting.  Can’t wait to have them here and show them what we are doing, and spoil them with some of Tassie’s amazing produce.  The roadside stalls are now out in force, with rich cherries, juicy peaches, sweet nectarines, tart apricots, tasty tayberries, and bursting blueberries all for sale at ridiculously cheap prices.  It is an amazing time of year, we may even do a preserving session or two so stay tuned for pics.

Until next time, enjoy your good life!

This girl has eggs, so fingers crossed we get more Muscovys!

Tinks fooling around.

The nature of compromise

Cor and I consider ourselves to be reasonable exponents of eating well, that is, eating animals and vegetables and fruit that have been produced with a high level of care and consequently, a high level of flavour.  But we compromise.  Everyone does it, and on a recent road trip I was given cause to consider the drivers of compromise, staring down at the decidedly non free-range bacon and egg sandwich from a roadside café that was to be my breakfast.

We get a lot of lecturing.  People telling us we should eat organic, free range, biodynamic, RSPCA inspected, local, sustainably caught, responsibly farmed, the list is endless.

But all too often these lecturers don’t try to understand or respect why people compromise when it comes to their food.  As far as they are concerned, there is no excuse for not eating food that falls into the aforementioned categories.  Or if they do look for a reason, it is all too often blamed on the big food retailers, for stopping the march of the citizenry towards better food.  Actually, the first time I have really seen compromise even acknowledged was in this great Milkwood post: http://milkwood.net/2013/12/23/the-ethics-of-almost/#comment-22982.

The reasons we compromise, as I see them, are threefold.  I believe they are:

1.       Time

2.       Information

3.       Money

Time

So you are, like us, on a roadtrip, looking for a quick breakfast on the go.  You don’t have time to seek out the one backstreet café in town that serves locally made bacon on their sandwiches.

Or you have a couple of kids, you and your other half leave for work at 7am and get home at 7pm, eat, put the kids to bed, steal a couple of private moments in front of TV before falling asleep.  And weekends are no better, ferrying kids around to sporting or social engagements.  When are you supposed to have the time to seek out this wonderful food you are being told you should be feeding your kids?  If it isn’t packaged in flashing lights at the supermarket when you do the Saturday afternoon shopping trip, it doesn’t make the pantry or even the trolley.

Of course, like everything, this driver is one of choice.  You could spend your weeknight spare time tracking down these producers, or restaurants, or markets, but sometimes you would rather spend the time decompressing, or if you are the road, driving on (I personally love it when we “make good time”).

Start out with some herbs like we did....

Information

This one is related to the time driver, because it takes time to understand our food.  The way things are these days, with an endless stream of jingo-istic food phrases thrust at us, it takes time to follow each of them through to what they actually mean.  Organic?  When it comes to meat that doesn’t mean free range, just that it has been given feed grown with organic chemicals (though there are some approved non-organic ones too).  Free range?  That just means given access to an outside run, not necessarily for the whole life of the animal nor one that allows the animal to scratch, or root around, or do what it does naturally.  Most citizens don’t know this stuff.  The simple information they have been provided is: organic/etc = good & expensive; everything else = not so good & cheaper.  Hell, even people who sell organic stuff don’t know that an organic certification actually allows the use of chemicals and some drugs, nor how dangerous some 100% organic chemicals can be.

So if you don’t have the time to research all these things, you aren’t going to be informed.  And labelling, contrary to what the demagogues think, is not the be all and end all answer.  Labelling will never explain fully where a product comes from, the conditions it was grown or raised in, and whether the grower is receiving a fair price for the product.

Solving the information problem takes time, and I know that there are lots of people out there trying to help in this regard.  But I will make two easy suggestions for those not sure where to make a start.  The first is to borrow or buy a copy of the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  It is incredibly compelling while being very informative (think Bill Bryson), and goes a long way to explaining how food is produced in modern America, and many of the techniques that have been adopted elsewhere.

The second suggestion is to buy go back to buying your meat from the butcher.  It isn’t any more expensive than the supermarkets (unless you want it to be) and when you are looking in that glass case at those pork chops, you can ask the simple question “where did those chops come from?”  The butcher won’t be offended by your impertinence, he will relish the chance to share some of his knowledge of his supply line.  Whether it is from commercially farmed (confinement) large white pigs, or free range Berkshires, or something else entirely, you will have in a few seconds increased the amount of information you have about your food, and taken a valuable first step towards knowing your food.

The other important element of information comes to flavour.  Not knowing that certain types of produce taste better, and thinking that “a tomato is a tomato and a chicken is a chicken” is the one of the greatest information obstacles that we must overcome.

Money

I left this one for last, because it seems to be the most sensitive one.  The fact is that yes, food that is produced in a caring manner, and that gives a good return to the farmer usually costs more.  But, and here, is a big but, it doesn’t have to.  That’s right, it really doesn’t have to.

Sure, if you don’t have the time to make the effort or the information on where to go, and you want to buy your high quality food from the supermarket, yes it will always cost more.  However if you do your homework, and change your buying habits, you can get it for the same price as you would pay for the food you normally buy.

You find that person in your area with their own free-range chooks, you won’t pay $6.35 a dozen you will pay $4-$5.  You find a few people with a similar outlook, and you can buy a side of beef, cut up, for $8 a kilo.  There is no way the supermarket is going to beat that price.  Same thing works with pork.  Sure, you have to stock your deep freezer, and order in advance, and do some running about, but this comes back to the time consideration.  Find the market gardener in your area, maybe at your local farmers’ market (if you have one).  Buy a week’s worth of veges from them and then compare it to your normal bill.  Pleasant surprise almost guaranteed.

Overcoming the Drivers

So those are my thoughts on the compromises we make.  I will finish this post by charging my fellow food-lovers with a challenge.  When next you find yourself saddling up the high horse (as I too often do, I admit it) get down for a minute and think about which of these compromise drivers you can help your audience to overcome.  The more we all pull together to do this, the closer we will get to what I believe will be a “tipping point” in our society’s relationship with food, and restore the relationship between the citizen consumer and the farmer.  I am going to try and do my part, want to give me a hand?

...and end up making your own sausages!

What sort of underwear does a farmer wear?

This post is a bit of homage to Tim Budd’s blog at testedtodestruction.blogspot.com where he reviews gear that he uses fell running and hiking about in the Peak District of England.

I thought it would be interesting to review the gear I use every day.  Interesting for me, I can’t say what other people will think, but then a bit of holiday fun never hurt, so here goes…

Arc’teryx Theta AR Jacket ($630)

OK, now I know I have lost you.  What orchardist seriously wears a $600 jacket?  This one, for starters.  Hang in there, let me explain.  I was a climber, skier and hiker long before I was a farmer and having this jacket since becoming one has been brilliant.  Paired with an Icebreaker shirt and a holey Icebreaker 260 pullover (if anyone knows why merino shirts develop random holes send me an email, I really want to know) I have been toasty warm in all but the coldest work conditions.  When it gets really cool I add a Polartec vest to the mix.  The underarm zips allow me to release a bit of heat if I have to chase the sheep in the rain, and the pockets are big enough for a couple pairs of work gloves (I will get to those), while the inner pocket is great for keeping my phone dry.  I haven’t found a use for the sleeve ski pass pocket yet, but I’m sure I will.  Most importantly, despite copping a beating from blackberries, barbed wire fences, branches and lots of sharp edges, it looks as good as new.  I know I could buy 3 jackets for the money that will last just as long, but would they be as good and as versatile?  I doubt it.  All I know is I am glad I had this before we got the farm, and I am stoked to have it now.

Sealskinz Sporting Gloves (£50)

Most of the time I like to use the rubber-gripped work gloves that you can buy for $5 a pair in the hardware shop, mainly because I know they won’t last, and I am not wearing them for warmth.  The Sealskinz come out when it is cold and wet.  With an index finger and thumb that fold back for finding your keys, or picking up screws, or any finicky jobs, these save you pulling them off and putting them back on.  The leather palm is good and hard wearing, and only a little bit of water occasionally gets through where the index finger folds back.  The nose-friendly fabric on the thumb proved great when the wind comes up and your nose is running (not the nicest but there you have it, reality, not some ideal).  I simply can’t recommend them highly enough.

I am trying to destroy them, but no luck yet

Mountain Equipment Stretchlite Guide Pants (£70)

Another hangover from my climbing days, these are the only item of Mountain Equipment gear I have.  They were recommended by Tim and have proved great on the farm.  Not waterproof, but warm and pretty water resistant, plus when they get wet they also dry quickly.  The stretchiness that is aimed at climbers has made scrambling under and over fences, onto tractors, and through bush easy as pie.  They have a leg zip pocket and zip expandable calves which help when putting them into wellies/gumboots.  The only real downside is they don’t have belt loops, so I have to carry my Leatherman in my pocket instead of on my belt.  They are a bit warm when it gets over 20 degrees but then I go to cotton drill trousers anyway.

They also aren’t chainsaw-proof, but they slowed it down enough to save my leg!

Under Armour Boxerjock briefs ($35)

What?  Underwear?  Well you wouldn’t know it from his blog, but besides buying and destroying outdoor gear and fell running, Tim (together with Rob) also has ongoing obsession with finding the best pair of space-fabric travel underwear money can buy.  Well I think I have found them.  And yes, it is relevant on the farm, because you never know when a bull might be coming at you flat out.  When that happens, you need to know you have some nice underwear on in case the ambulance officer is good looking.

In all (sort of) seriousness, I travelled for 18 months with just 4 pairs of these (washing them of course!!), doing everything from climbing to diving to hiking and farmwork, in both hot and cold conditions.  They have been great for everything, and dry overnight when washed, keeping them on a quick rotation.  Unlike cotton boxers or briefs, or even previously owned Nike Combat compression shorts, they haven’t shown a single sign of wear.  No loose threads, no pilling, no wear patches.  Brilliant!  Since arriving back in Australia I have bought another pair.  My other Under Armour stuff has done pretty well, including my cap (which I can always seem to wash grease out of somehow), but the boxers have been standout performers.

Yes, this is me modelling my Under Armour (no not really but did you really expect a photo of that??)

Mongrel SP Zipsiders Boots ($140)

As roundly castigated as I have been for not supporting Tasmanian boot-maker Blundstone, I have to say that I support whoever makes the best gear, not just where they are based, and for me the new Australian company Mongrel are making the best boots around right now.

The fact is that Blundstone’s elastic-sided boots don’t provide any ankle support.  After a friend was laid up for months with a broken ankle after walking across a cow paddock, and having weak ankles myself from old basketball and football injuries, I decided to go with the Mongrel’s steel cap zip-sided boots.  The zips allow you to get them on and off quickly but the laces allow you to get it tight around the ankle.

They are simply one of the most comfortable work boots I have ever worn.  They don’t leak water until completely soaked and have good grip in the mud.  They also aren’t too heavy.  When it is too wet for these I go to the Blundstone wellies/gumboots which have also been great.

The steel caps get cold in winter when left outside, making for cold toes when starting out in the morning, but this can be combated effectively with a pair of steel cap socks with the extra insulation in the toes.  I have dropped an apple bin on my foot and thanked my stars for steel caps!

They don’t have such a pronounced heel like Blundstones, which makes tractor work a little harder (pushing the clutch on the tractor with the heel is easier), but modern tractors don’t have a clutch like Dad’s old John Deere 2010 so that doesn’t worry me much.

The light colour fabric has kept its colour, while the leather has darkened, leading to the boots taking on an odd two-tone colour, but I don’t mind paying that price for the best boots I have ever worn.

Yes, I was standing in my socks getting wet feet to take this picture

Special Gear Mentions:

Stihl MS170 Mini-Boss chainsaw ($399)

Well apart from the damage I nearly did to my leg with it, this chainsaw has been brilliant.  It punches well above its weight and can drop big trees, but is light enough to handle pruning with one hand.  It isn't the biggest, manliest chainsaw going, but it is truly outstandingly versatile value that is a steal for four hundred bucks.

 It absolutely demolished this rogue silver wattle

Leatherman Wingman ($50)

Always in the pocket, able to open the razor-sharp blade with one hand, with handy pliers, screwdrivers and the rest of the usual gadgets.  No tweezers though which is what always put me off getting one, but when my pocket knife was taken off me by airport security in Brisbane, I took the plunge.  All I can say is the one handed opening is bloody good, and it is cheaper than most other multi-tools.  It even fits in my old pocket knife belt case.

Conclusion

So there you have it, the gear I use.  Not “true” Tassie farmer style (where is the flannel, the Akubra hat?), but then we all take our baggage with us into whatever new life we choose, and I am no exception.  Hope to see you down on Our Mates’ Farm, whatever sort of underwear you choose to wear!

Wearing all the gear with a young Bob vying for attention